Witch of the Healing Woods
by starfire7
Summary: A fifteen year old, cast out from her home in Merekara. Follow her adventures through the years and witness her make friends, deal with enemies, and overcome obstacles. This is a tale of her life. Amamiya Nadeshiko.
1. Chapter One: Leaving home

Well, here I am with the long awaited first part of the trilogy. Some of you might have already read Runaway Angel, and some of Spirits of the Wind, but I assure you, they're going to be changed in a BIG way. I've already started the second chapter here, so whether I get any reviews or not, it won't deter me from writing. I love this trilogy and it's a heap of fun to write. Please, don't steal the plot, or ideas, Hikari and I are working very hard on this trilogy. If you want to use it in your site, please e- mail either me or her.  
  
Karisa: karisa_temura@yahoo.co.nz  
  
Hikari: starfire1246@yahoo.com.au  
  
And now, onto the disclaimer  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own CCS.  
  
On with the story...  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Prologue * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
I sit here. There's nothing more that I wish that all this suffering would cease. My kind and my father's kind are stranded here. There is nothing that we can do. I look to the sky and see that it is a bright hue of dark red. Blood has been spilled during the night. They have taken others. It is clear.  
  
They are never going to stop. I know that, my mother knows that, my father knows that and so do the village elders. They have warned us to stay indoors. Stay away from this ferocious set of people. I have met a few though, and they are hardly as bloodthirsty as the elders say that they are. The people that I met were very friendly. Of course they didn't know what I was, but even then they treated me nicely, they didn't even know if I was friend or foe. So what is truly so bad about them? They are not going to harm us. One said that he would do anything to see me again. Even sneak into my village. I told him with a wry smile that that would not be a very wise idea. My village is very well protected against uninvited visitors and anyone that found him would not think highly.  
  
He asked me why.  
  
I just stayed silent. There was no way that I could tell them truly what I was, even though I feel revolted against it. Mama says that that's no reason though. I shouldn't be like this at all. At least, that is what she thinks. I hardly think that way at all. I mean, what's the point? What's the point of isolating ourselves from these people when they are very friendly and don't even mind visiting us.  
  
He asked me of my name.  
  
Again, I stayed silent.  
  
I could see that he was starting to get frustrated, as I was not saying anything about who I was. I then asked him of his name.  
  
He gave me the same silence that I gave him.  
  
Like he was feeling, I was starting to get a little bit annoyed as well. I clearly asked him to state who he was and what he wanted to do here.  
  
He merely raised an eyebrow, obviously slightly surprised at this barrage of questions. He then shrugged his shoulders and I felt like strangling him. I honestly did! He was so infuriating!  
  
I think as soon as he saw the fire of the frustration in my eyes, he split. He fled away as fast as possible.  
  
I was looking innocent, feeling slightly confused.  
  
What was that about?  
  
He had just run away for no reason at all. Little did I know...  
  
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* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Chapter One * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
In the small village of Merekara, a teenage girl sat on the grass, sewing a dress. It was an incredibly hot day. She looked at the sky, then surveyed her fingers, which were now pricked and red. She had been sewing the dress for a good few hours and because her co-ordination was not very good, she wasn't very good at stopping the needle before it pierced her skin. And that pain was inkling at her all the time now. It was afternoon and the hot sun was in about the middle of the sky. Nadeshiko figured that it was probably about midday.  
  
She was relieved to hear the sound of her mother calling her. "Nadeshiko!"  
  
"Coming!" she answered right back as she tossed the dress aside, but to her bad luck, it landed right in the mud. She cursed under her breath. That shouldn't have happened.  
  
Her mother immediately heard the language, it was all part of a witch's honed senses, they were able to see, hear, smell and sense some things better than other people, other races. Which Nadeshiko was quickly figuring out the hard way. No one wanted to teach her about what her origins and heritage were all about, not her sisters or even her parents. It was so frustrating because here she was, trying to learn and everyone else refused to teach her. What was so wrong with her?  
  
Nadeshiko quickly picked up the dress and hurried inside her house. "Mama?" she asked quietly, venturing in. She had the dress under her arm and when her mother saw it, Nadeshiko knew that her mother would be furious with her. Of course, there was always the option of cleaning, which she knew that her mother would put her on as soon as she had the chance. Nadeshiko hated that job. She despised it most of all that her mother usually made her do.  
  
"Nadeshiko, come in here," a voice called through the house.  
  
Nadeshiko winced. That voice belonged to her mother. She walked quietly through the house to where her mother was. "Mama?" she asked quietly. "What do you want with me?"  
  
Nadeshiko's mother, Amaya, turned around. "You've done wrong again, my child. I'm afraid that this is the last time. You need to go."  
  
Nadeshiko's eyes filled with fear, and the dress that she had been sewing dropped to the ground in folds. "Mama, what do you mean?"  
  
"You've done wrong, child. You've become a damned soul. You're polluting our family, making us ashamed of you." Amaya's voice was calm. "Hence, why you need to go."  
  
Amaya's simple words penetrated her daughter like white-hot knives. She didn't have to want to send the girl out, but the words of her own mother came rushing back to her. "Cast the girl out, or I'll disown you. Not just you, but your sister too. You'll have no access to what knowledge we have. No herbs or anything, so if any of you become sick, we won't help you." Amaya was quite dependent on her mother. She couldn't accept that fate. So, she was casting her daughter out. The bright one, Nadeshiko. It was the only way and Amaya knew that she would be kept safe.  
  
Nadeshiko's eyes filled with tears. "Why, mama, why?"  
  
It broke Amaya's heart to see her daughter like that. It was all that she could do to keep a calm, rational face. She had to do this, she just had to. For the good of her family. Amaya had hoped that Nadeshiko would just accept her words and leave the older woman in peace. But that would not be the case, her senses didn't even need to tell her that.  
  
She knew what was coming next.  
  
Nadeshiko just stayed still for a few moments and finally bolted out of the room with no further words exchanged between the two women. Tears streaked down her cheeks and she hid her face in the bend of her elbow. Why had her mother had to do this? She wanted to know. Nadeshiko looked at the photo that she had of her and her mother sitting on her table and she swiped her hand at it, knocking it off the table and sending it crashing to the hard slate floor.  
  
The frame shattered, like Nadeshiko's heart when she had heard those words that her mother had said. She was shaken. "Why?" she whispered, her eyes red and puffy as she looked at the mirror. She knelt down beside her bed, buried her face in her arms and sobbed.  
  
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Nadeshiko woke up in the early hours of the morning and began packing her bag. With every single little thing that she put in it, a tear trickled down her face. "Mama..." she whispered. She had gotten a little sleep long after she stopped crying. But her eyes were still red rimmed and puffy. Her cheeks were tear-stained.  
  
Finally, when she finished packing, she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the front door. When she got to the gate, she looked back to the place that she had called 'home' for the past fifteen years. When she turned around again, she never looked back as she started walking down the road that would lead her out of her village. Merekara.  
  
But at the window, a lone figure watched her go. "May the winds be with you, my child," the figure whispered before the light in the window winked out.  
  
Nadeshiko heard the words and her hair blew in the winds all about her as she kept walking. The last thing she heard was, "May the winds be with you, my child," before she was out of the village and on her journey.  
  
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Thanks for reading. Review if you want to. Next chapter will be out soon, sometime within the next two weeks. While I'm at it, thanks Matt for being the beta-reader! You're a lifesaver!!!  
  
Until next chapter everyone.  
  
Karisa Temura 


	2. Chapter Two: Things aren't the way they ...

YAY!! Four reviews!!! Thanks everyone!! *glomps Hikari, Nakuru- style* She's meant to be working on this with me too, but looks like it's my turn. She promised that she'd work more on Runaway Angel (the second story of the trilogy) Some of you may have already read it, but trust me, LOTS and LOTS of things are going to be different. I was just waiting for Matt to finish editing and now it's UP!!! Now for that nasty little thing called the 'disclaimer'. Eww... *shudders*  
  
Disclaimer: I don't like this. I swear I don't. I will make it my next year's New Year's resolution to buy CCS from CLAMP. Yeah right, like that'll every happen. --;; I don't own it.  
  
And now thanking the reviewers!! ^_^ I tend to ramble on and on... so don't mind that ^_^  
  
Tomoyo-chan: Thank you for the review!! I'm pleased I left you hanging. I guess that's a good thing, although I didn't intend to leave a cliffhanger. ^^;; Oops. Hmm... I was trying to think of how she would feel in those situations, and that's what I came up with. To be honest, this is the first fic that I've written that's been based around Nadeshiko. It gets a little difficult sometimes because she wasn't displayed much in the dub (which, unfortunately, I had to end up watching -- ;; Nothing against Nelvana, but they really stuffed up that one). So I've had to piece together what I knew about her and figure out what her personality would be like. Anyway- here's a longer chapter ^_^ Once again, thank you!! By the way- who's Miru? Also- I love your fic 'Chosen'. It's a beautiful piece of work.  
  
pink-hime-sakura: Wow! Thanks!! That's one thing I haven't been told before. Thank you so much. As for action... there's a little in this chapter, but I'm going to reserve the majority of it for the upcoming three or four chapters. Lots of new stuff going on. A new appearance too. ^_^  
  
arcticflames: ARCTIC-CHAN!!!! Thank you so much for reviewing!! *hugs* As for why Nadeshiko was cast out from her home, I guess it wasn't explained much, bad on my part, sorry ^^;; Well, in the first chapter while Amaya was thinking about what was happening, it was said a little in her thoughts. She reflected back on what her own mother had said. Amaya's mother had threatened to cut all ties with the family unless Nadeshiko was thrown out. She was very jealous of Nadeshiko, and so against Amaya's wishes, she cast the girl out. But don't worry, Amaya's not out of it just yet. Hey- when are you going to update 'Illusione'? I'm dying to know what happens!!  
  
On with the story... whew... that was a long beginning. ^_^  
  
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~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Chapter Two ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
It was quiet. All too quiet. There was no happy singing of the birds. No sounds at all. She knew that this was a bad sign. Something was about to happen and it was not going to be good. The trees rose high above her, white fluffy clouds in the sky. She could see them when she looked upwards. The wind's gentle arms swirled around. Nadeshiko knew that there was something wrong. She immediately picked up her bag and threw her uneaten fruit inside. She slung it over her shoulder quickly as her honed senses kicked in.  
  
What was wrong? She had to help. She had to be able to do something...  
  
She got something, an aching head. This was it... a vision was coming.  
  
Two people, a boy and a girl. Lying on a road with people around them, laughing, jeering, pointing. The boy and girl being stood on, poked, prodded. The girl's eyes opened halfway and Nadeshiko saw a close-up of her face. She looked about sixteen. She looked helpless and miserable.  
  
And then, as suddenly as it had come, it went. All that Nadeshiko was left with was a taste of bitterness and a throbbing headache. Ow... Nadeshiko rubbed her head a little, feeling the pain course through her. She lay down and pressed her forehead to the earth, releasing what she felt. After a few moments, she felt a little better, well enough to stand up.  
  
She contemplated the vision that she had just had and her senses told her that there were two young people in trouble, people who were not much older than herself. Nadeshiko put aside her worries and her emotions as she set off to find the two teenagers. They weren't far, she could feel them. She could also sense the auras of many other people there, except they weren't helping the two injured ones, that was what was really making Nadeshiko concerned. What were they doing to them?  
  
She wasn't quite sure. She had to find out though. After about five minutes of running, Nadeshiko finally came to the place where she sensed the auras the strongest. She heard the girl calling out.  
  
"Help me...!" she cried. Nadeshiko looked around wildly, trying to set her eyes on where the girl was calling out from. She found nothing.  
  
~"Where are you?"~ she asked the girl telepathically.  
  
"Over here!!" the girl yelled out.  
  
Nadeshiko looked to the left of where she was. There, that was where the presence was coming from. "I'm coming!" Nadeshiko yelled out. "Hold on!" she feared for the young girl. If only she could get there in time...  
  
Nadeshiko's feet carried her closer by the second. Within about two minutes, she arrived at the scene of her vision. The familiar background, the scenery. That tree. Yes, it was all familiar. Nadeshiko saw the people dancing around the two teenagers. They were the same people. She hurried forward, only to be blocked by a big guy. "Sorry girly, but youngens ain't allowed here."  
  
Nadeshiko looked at him fearfully. "I have to help them! They're hurt!" she insisted, gesturing at the girl and boy.  
  
"Nah, they're trash, just leave them alone. They're not gonna do anything for a while, if they know what's good for 'em," the big guy said, leering over at the two.  
  
~What a jerk,~ Nadeshiko thought, staring at the big guy.  
  
She glanced back over at the girl and boy again, to see that they were getting hurt. Ok, this had gone far enough. No more. Nadeshiko concentrated on a big branch that was lying on the ground after a recent storm and aimed on it to zoom into the back of the big guy's head that she had just talked to. The flat of the branch hit his head. Hard. The big guy wavered on his feet for a few moments before falling flat on his face. Nadeshiko rushed in to help the boy and girl.  
  
The people who were still standing around after Nadeshiko had displayed her little telekinesis trick were not looking happy to see one of the cronies down and out.  
  
"Are you alright?" they heard Nadeshiko asking the girl quietly.  
  
The girl was sitting up. "Yeah, I think I'll be okay, but I don't know about my brother. Is he alright?" the girl asked.  
  
Nadeshiko looked over in the boy's general direction. He was more beaten up than his sister. "What are your names?" she asked the girl.  
  
The girl looked a little surprised to hear a stranger asking her name. But she continued to speak anyway, "I probably shouldn't be telling you who I am, but..."  
  
"HEY! You ruined our fun you wench!" one of the crowd yelled at Nadeshiko.  
  
"YEAH! Get her!!" another yelled.  
  
"When are they gonna ever learn?" Nadeshiko muttered, and with a sweep of her right hand, all the crowd went flying off their feet and landed yards away.  
  
"How'd you do that?" the girl asked, amazed.  
  
"Long story," Nadeshiko answered, keeping her attention on the crowd.  
  
"Oh dammit guys, she's a bloody witch. Run for your lives!" one yelled, he seemed to be the leader. His eyes glowered at Nadeshiko, but she knew that he could not do anything to her.  
  
"I like long stories," the girl commented, smiling.  
  
"So do I," said Nadeshiko, "but believe me, this one will leave you more than shocked. What was your name again? I didn't quite catch it."  
  
"Amori Rina, my name's Amori Rina," said the girl. "And that boy over there's my brother. His name's Takuya. We're twins."  
  
Nadeshiko looked from Rina to Takuya and back to Rina. She nodded. "Yeah, you can't tell it at the moment, because your brother's beaten up a lot, but underneath, you're definitely twins."  
  
"What's your name?" Rina asked Nadeshiko.  
  
"My name? Oops, I forgot to tell you. Nadeshiko, my name's Nadeshiko."  
  
"Pretty name," Rina commented.  
  
"Thanks, but don't you think that it's about time that we move your brother?" Nadeshiko asked, getting up.  
  
"Oops! I forgot about him! It's not often that we get a witch talking to us. Most of them are mean and don't like talking to other people," Rina stated.  
  
Nadeshiko was shocked. "Really? Is that true?" she sounded genuinely surprised.  
  
Rina nodded. "It's true. They don't tend to like others."  
  
Nadeshiko cocked her head, puzzled. Who would've ever thought that her own people could be that harsh? But then again, maybe she should have known, she had just been banished from home by her own mother. That memory still left a very bitter taste in her mouth. She concentrated on Takuya's body rising.  
  
"Whoa, is that telekinesis?" Rina asked, her face lighting up.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Nadeshiko said back.  
  
"Cool."  
  
Takuya's body lifted up in the air a little higher and began floating over to beside Rina and Nadeshiko. "Your brother on the double," she said with a giggle.  
  
Rina merely smiled. "Typical teenager." Rina glanced over at her twin brother. 'He just had to try to protect me, didn't he?' she thought fondly. 'Typical of him.'  
  
Takuya groaned a little as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. But there was nothing holding him off of it. His eyes flew open. Same colour as Rina's, mahogany.  
  
Nadeshiko's concentration was broken and Takuya fell straight to the ground again.  
  
"What in the world was that?!?!" Takuya exclaimed, looking at Nadeshiko, but not seeing his sister to the right of her. "Where's Rina? Tell me where she is!!" Takuya glared at Nadeshiko. "Witch."  
  
"Oh geez, Takuya, you can be such a prick sometimes," Rina said breezily. "I'm over here." She waved her hand in the air in front of Takuya's face.  
  
Takuya was startled and he quickly stepped back a little. "Witch, what did you do to her?"  
  
Rina rolled her eyes. "She did nothing to me little bro. Yeah, she's a witch, but don't go making that public, ya hear? She just saved our lives, so you should be thankful otherwise you would've definitely bitten the big one there, little bro," Rina said, smiling at Nadeshiko and then turning her stern glare on her brother. Being two minutes older than her brother, she had the right to use her authority as older sister on Takuya.  
  
Nadeshiko quickly jumped in when Takuya quickly began advancing on his twin. "Umm... are you guys wanting me to heal you? It'd probably help a lot and you wouldn't feel so sore." Nadeshiko directed a look at Takuya. "And please, you can trust me. I won't do anything to hurt you."  
  
The look on Takuya's face was one of doubt.  
  
Rina's was the total opposite. She was calm, cool, collected. The typical older sister face in this situation. She seemed to be more accepting than her ever-suspicious twin brother.  
  
Rina nodded and walked closer to Nadeshiko.  
  
Takuya began reaching out a hand toward his older sister, about to warn her to come back, when he saw the most amazing thing emanating from Nadeshiko.  
  
A band of pure white light. It surrounded the girl. He'd never seen anything like this before. Of course, he'd heard about it. All children in his village had been told the story of the girl with the pure white aura, but they'd never known that the girl that they had been seeking was a witch.  
  
Takuya blinked a few times, astounded. He was speechless.  
  
Rina noticed her brother's expression and said, "Hey, earth to Takuya. You there?" She waved a hand in front of her brother's face and he jumped out of his trance, startled. "Hey bro, what was up?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"T-T-the-the w-w-w-wit-witch," Takuya stuttered. "White aura, healing, pure."  
  
Rina frowned. Takuya's words weren't making any sense. She called over to her newest friend, "Hey, Nadeshiko, would you mind coming over here to see what's wrong with him? It's as if he saw a ghost."  
  
"Nah, only a pure white aura," a voice said.  
  
Rina jumped. She wasn't expecting to hear THAT voice. "Kamatari?" she voiced, searching for the owner of the voice. She looked questioningly at Nadeshiko.  
  
Nadeshiko pointed behind her, over Rina's shoulder, with a giggle. "Look behind you," she said.  
  
Rina glanced over her shoulder without turning around. "Kamatari, you idiot. Merciless trickster."  
  
Kamatari shrugged. "Deal with it, Rina." He walked over to Takuya and examined the wounds and bruises that the sixteen- year-old boy had. "You did good saving them young witch," Kamatari said to Nadeshiko.  
  
Nadeshiko looked at Kamatari and now it was her turn to be amazed. "How did you know that I was a witch?" she asked.  
  
Kamatari shrugged. "It was easy. It's called 'senses'," his voice was sardonic.  
  
"Well thanks," she said back. She didn't really like this Kamatari person.  
  
"You don't like me? I'm hurt," Kamatari remarked sarcastically.  
  
That only added to Nadeshiko's negative feelings about the man. He looked around fifty to sixty years of age.  
  
Rina glared at Kamatari and then turned to smile at Nadeshiko. "Nadeshiko, meet our father, Kamatari."  
  
Nadeshiko almost passed out with shock. That old man was Rina and Takuya's father!? He looked so old! But when Nadeshiko looked from him to the twins and back again, she could start to see some resemblance between the three.  
  
"Aww... the little wee witch thinks that I'm too old... poor baby," Kamatari commented, yes, again with sarcasm.  
  
Geez, he was a sarcastic one wasn't he? Nadeshiko thought, surveying the man.  
  
Rina glanced from Nadeshiko to Kamatari. They didn't exactly seem to hit it off that well. They'd have to deal with it. Rina jumped into the conversation before it got any more out of hand. Her father was a skilled mind reader and he'd keep the sarcasm up until the crack of dawn, and frankly, Rina wanted to sleep through the night.  
  
"Hey you two, stop it," Rina walked in between the two and glared at her father. "Kamatari, stop showing off, she doesn't know that you're a mind reader and I really do want to sleep tonight, so if you'd stop, it'd be much appreciated and then you wouldn't have to deal with a grumpy daughter in the morning. And also for your information, she saved us from the Manene. Takuya and I were hurt pretty badly and she saved us, even though she didn't have to. I know Takuya doesn't trust her, but I don't give a damn what he thinks. I want you to invite her to our village. I know it's a long way away, but we could make the trip anyway. She's only one more person and I'm sure that Akane won't mind."  
  
Nadeshiko's head was spinning. Things were so different out here. The kids didn't have to call their parents 'Mama' and 'Papa'. They just called them by their names. The kids could see auras. She felt herself slowly going and sinking to the ground, and then darkness overwhelmed her.  
  
Her last thought was... damn.  
  
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"What the hell do you think you were doing?!?!?!" Rina yelled.  
  
Kamatari backed away a little from his fiery daughter. "What do you mean?"  
  
Rina was angrier than before. "Oh no, Kamatari, don't you go all 'what do you mean' on me. You know damn well what you did. You could at least be polite. She DID save mine and Takuya's lives today. We could've been killed! You hear me now! KILLED!! K-I-L-L-E-D!!! KILLED!! Show her some respect goddamn it. It's what she deserves."  
  
"No witch deserves respect," Kamatari muttered, not meaning for Rina to hear, but she did anyway.  
  
Her eyes glowered at her father. She had been pushed over the edge. She exploded in a rage, "She's not some bloody stereotype. Geez, I thought you were better than that. I thought that you were the type of person who would get to know someone before making a decision on what they were really like. She's a nice girl!!"  
  
Kamatari merely smirked, hearing his daughter's rant. She was just like her mother, he realised.  
  
Rina noticed that Kamatari wasn't even paying attention and she exploded again.  
  
And so this continued on for the next few hours... and amazingly, Nadeshiko managed to sleep through it all.  
  
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Blurs. She could see blurs. What were they? She tried to make them out, yet she couldn't. Wait, yes, she could. There. She blinked sleepily a few times.  
  
Flames. Red, orange, yellow, blue. All the colours. They were all a part of the flames dancing in front of her. Wait! Flames?!?! Nadeshiko's eyes jerked open and she sat up, dishevelling the blanket that lay over her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around wildly. Where was Rina? Takuya? Old mean? Oops, she meant old MAN.  
  
"Over here," a voice said.  
  
Nadeshiko looked in the general direction of the voice and wasn't totally enthusiastic to see Kamatari. "Hello," she said dryly, blinking a few times.  
  
"You know what happened?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah, I think I have a bit of an idea. I passed out, right?"  
  
"Got it in one," Kamatari replied, looking fondly over at his sleeping son and daughter. "Listen," he started, looking back at Nadeshiko. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I didn't mean to sound so... mean. After you passed out, my daughter yelled at me for a good couple of hours about respect. I've met a couple of witches before and they weren't the most pleasant people to be with. So I guess I had a bit of a bad first impression to start off with."  
  
"You went by your opinion, people do that," Nadeshiko stated. It still hurt. Her mother banishing her from the village. She was surprised to feel it, but it still hurt. A small tear dripped out of one eye and trickled down her cheek.  
  
"I shouldn't have. I should've known better. My people are known for forgiveness, yet I don't show it. You must know that I am truly sorry for my actions."  
  
"It's no problem." Nadeshiko pulled her knees up to her chest and shivered. She suddenly realised how cold it was.  
  
"Here, have my blanket," Kamatari said from behind.  
  
Nadeshiko felt something warm and fluffy draped over her shoulders. She smiled up at Kamatari and said to the old man, "Thank you, but I think you should have it. It's yours."  
  
Kamatari smiled back. "That may be so, but both of those are mine, and you can have both."  
  
"Are you sure?" Nadeshiko asked.  
  
"Yes," Kamatari answered. "I have another one in my bag." And indeed he did. He pulled out a large fleecy-like blanket and wrapped it around himself, sitting a little way around from Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko stared into the flames, feeling and absorbing their warmth. She watched the flames continuously licking at the wood, soaking it up, burning it.  
  
Kamatari was staring at Nadeshiko, observing her, and when she looked in his direction, he smiled at the young girl. For a witch, she was such a nice girl. So friendly and willing to save others. It was rare to find a witch like that, and her aura, that pure white aura, it was the same one as in that story that he had heard as a child. His mother had told it to him...  
  
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"Now Kamatari, you know that when this girl comes, she will not know that she is the one. But to distinguish her from the rest, you will see that she has a pure white aura. An aura of innocence."  
  
A younger Kamatari. Fifteen years of age. Almost coming of the Sight. At the age of fifteen and six months, he would be able to See, but so far, his mother, Hatsuyo, had been doing it for him. His family was the family that was looking out for the fifteen-year-old girl with the white aura. It was not clear what people that she would be from, but it was sure that they would find her, and Kamatari was determined to be the one to find her. If not him, then one of his children. He would continue looking until he found her, until the end of his days.  
  
And so life had dragged on for the determined teenager, then man... he had still not found the girl... until this day...  
  
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Yes, it was clear that she was the one. Except to his mother's word, and exactly like they said, she didn't know it. But she did have the instincts and the aura to prove it. She had even saved his children. He was very grateful to her for that. He had to find some way to tell her that she was the one though... It was going to be hard, he knew that much. She might not even want to know. She might deny her fate... and then that would be disastrous for his entire village.  
  
No, he couldn't let that happen. He had to tell her. He just had to.  
  
"Nadeshiko?" he voiced.  
  
Nadeshiko looked over at him, her eyebrows raised in a curious look. "Hmmm? Oh, sorry. What is it?" she asked.  
  
Darn, this would be hard. "Well..." he started talking.  
  
"Kamatari?" a sleepy voice asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Shut up," the sleepy voice said again. It was Rina.  
  
"Typical of my daughter," he said, shaking his head, amused.  
  
Nadeshiko just smiled as her eyelids drifted shut and she went off to sleep.  
  
Kamatari saw Nadeshiko go to sleep and smiled a little. He watched the fire for a few moments more and left it crackling before picking up his big blanket and walking over to his children. He lay the blanket over them and fondly tucked a lock of hair away from Rina's face. "Sweet girl," he whispered. "Sweet dreams, children. Good night."  
  
And with those words, he swept away into the night, stars twinkling around him and his long cloak waving in the wind.  
  
~~~~To be continued...~~~~  
  
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YAY! Second chapter done! Sing a happy happy happy happy happy happy song. Sing a happy happy happy happy happy happy song! ................ OK, I'm done now!! I'll be off!!!! *runs off singing* Review if you want to! ^_^  
  
Same time, same place, same site. Until next chapter everyone!! Bye byes!  
  
Karisa Temura 


	3. Chapter Three: Stormy winds

I got a review!! YAY!! ^_^ *jumps around singing* 

Karisa: I hate disclaimers. *kills disclaimer with flamethrower* there we go *grins* all done!

Disclaimer: *pops up again*

Karisa: OO;; *mouth drops open* What the hell are you?!?! Invincible?!

Disclaimer: No, I'm a disclaimer and it is compulsory to have me on every chapter!

Karisa: O.o Crazy thing

Disclaimer: Now say me

Karisa: *like a little kid* I don't wanna! Make me!

Disclaimer: How bout you make me?

Karisa: Nah!

Disclaimer: *inches upon Karisa* DO IT!

Karisa: *cowers and says quickly* Karisa does not own CCS. CLAMP does

Disclaimer: *smiles satisfactorily* better

Karisa: Why that *CENSORED!!*

And now thanking the reviewer!! ^_^ Excuse my overactive personality at the moment.

pink-hime-sakura: Thankies!!! As for the part that you're confuzzled out, hmm... *opens files and scans chapter two* Oops! I guess I didn't explain clearly enough. SOWWIES!! . Well, you'll probably find out some stuff about Kamatari in this chapter here, and why exactly he treated Nadeshiko the way he did. 

On with the story... ^_^ I apologise in advance for the shortness of this chapter. Next one will be longer, I SWEAR!!

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* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Chapter Three * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

It was quiet... until...

"OK, where the hell is he?!?!" this from Rina.

"I'm sure he's around somewhere, sis," Takuya said, narrowing his identical mahogany eyes at Nadeshiko. "Any ideas where he went?"

Nadeshiko shook her head and sighed, thinking back on what had happened last night.

"What happened?" Rina asked Nadeshiko accusingly.

Nadeshiko looked faintly surprised. "Am I that easy to read?" she asked.

Rina nodded. "I've taken lessons from Hatsuyo," she said with an impatient wave of her hand. "Hurry up, get on with it."

"All we talked about was blankets, you two, and he..." she trailed off.

"He what?" Takuya asked.

Nadeshiko picked up where she left off. "He apologised to me."

Now it was Rina's turn to be surprised. It must've been a blue moon that night, because there was hardly a day where her father apologised. "He apologised?" Rina asked dubiously. "Since when does that happen? He hardly every apologises."

Nadeshiko was surprised and turned to look at Takuya for confirmation. When the twin nodded, her eyes widened a little.

Takuya was still looking at Nadeshiko, but more observing now. His thoughts were ranging from, 'What makes Kamatari think she's so special? Is it that white aura that I saw earlier or what?' to 'I have to keep Rina away from her, she can't be trusted,' to 'She's pretty nice.' 

Rina saw her brother surveying the teenage witch and her eyes narrowed instinctively. 'What's he doing now?' she thought suspiciously. 'He better not be thinking about harassing her. She's been through enough.'

Earlier that morning, Nadeshiko had confided in Rina about what had caused her to be all the way out here. Rina had hunted the girl down while she went to get some breakfast and told her to spill. Nadeshiko had tried to avoid the subject at first and had finally given in when Rina wouldn't stop bugging her about it. So, Rina had found out everything, and at first, the girl had been shocked. A mother just casting her child out like that. Her own flesh and blood. Goddamn, the woman must be some sort of devil. Nadeshiko had assured Rina that the woman usually wasn't. She had learnt all about Nadeshiko's family. Amaya, Nadeshiko's mother; Nadeshiko's older brother and younger sister, both of whom were nothing like her. And then she had heard about the young witch's father, the most horrible one of them all. It was a blessing that Nadeshiko was not like her father, unlike her brother and sister.

Rina had then gone back to talk to Takuya about what Nadeshiko had told her and her brother had told her to be careful. Rina hadn't really cared for what her brother had said and so she just walked off to have some breakfast and search that lazy lout of a father, Kamatari.

She had gotten a little worried after she couldn't find him around anywhere. He had been there the previous night because she had yelled at him to shut up. She remembered that clearly enough. So where had he gone? She had no idea, but wanted to find him so that she could yell at him some more about respect for other people, including keeping quiet while other people tried to sleep. Rina had kicked her brother awake and he had whacked her leg in return, hence the dead leg. Takuya really knew self defence pretty well. What a shame that he couldn't use it when put under pressure. He was better in his sleep, Rina would say that much and she wouldn't advance on that. What a pain.

Rina tried talking to Nadeshiko again about what had happened the night when she had been talking to Kamatari by the fire, but she hadn't given anything more away other than that they had been talking about blankets and the fact that Kamatari had apologised to Nadeshiko. Now that was a strange thing Rina had to say. Her father never apologised and even when he knew that he was wrong, he would never do it because he would feel that it wasn't worth wasting his breath. That was the sort of person that he was.

Even though their people were known for their compassion, Rina's father didn't have much of it and the only person that he had really ever shown respect to was his mother. Hatsuyo. Maybe because that was because she was like a slave driver. Rina had had all too much experience with the woman. She shuddered sometimes thinking about the intense lessons that she had gone through and that she was still going through. Rina was learning how to be a mind reader from the woman because she was the best. How else had her father become so good at it? He had learnt from his mother, she had taught him everything that she had known and she had promised to teach his offspring, her twin grandchildren, Rina and Takuya. 

Takuya wasn't really much a learner; Rina enjoyed it more... usually. But there were just the odd times that she hated it and usually that was quite a few times, especially in the recent days because that old story that everyone knew had been getting quite needed. The girl from that story was essential to Rina's village's survival. Kamatari had said to Rina that Nadeshiko was the girl that they had been waiting for. Rina was still a little sceptical though. Her newest friend, the one needed to save the village? Impossible. But then once she thought about it more, it seemed more real.

After seeing what Nadeshiko could do earlier, Rina knew that she had to get Nadeshiko to her village as soon as possible. The ... thing ... was almost upon them, she could feel it. Nadeshiko was attracted to danger, and she usually overcame it, or so Rina had seen.

"Rina! Heads up!" Takuya called.

Rina looked up and saw her brother in a tree. "Takuya, get the hell down from there!" she yelled at him.

Takuya shook his head and called back, "It's the Manene. They must be after Nadeshiko, we have to get out of here!"

Rina gritted her teeth. Of all the times that those buffoons decide to come to where they were. Bloody freaking senses. They were going haywire on her. "Yo! Nadeshiko! Get outta here!" Rina yelled over at the girl. Nadeshiko had to get out of here as soon as possible, otherwise there would be no hope for Rina's village. They depended on Nadeshiko staying alive.

Nadeshiko looked up from where she was gathering blankets and looked doubtfully at Rina. "Why?"

"Just trust me, now, go!!" Rina yelled back. She ran over to Nadeshiko and began pushing her into the depths of the forest. "They're going to be here any second."

Nadeshiko didn't try to restrain herself against Rina. She only took the girl's words and ran for her life.

"Good luck girl, you're gonna need it," Rina said after her and then ran to assist her brother.

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Nadeshiko's head was spinning. Why had Rina wanted her to run away and who were the ones that were coming? Were they after her, or just Rina and Takuya? Nadeshiko was puzzled, but she continued on, obeying the older girl's wishes.

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"Takuya, help me out here!" Rina yelled over at her brother.

"As you can probably see, I'm a little tied up myself," Takuya shouted back and he was set backing up by the Manene.

Rina and Takuya were soon back to back. "Well, sis, what do you suppose we do now?" Takuya asked.

"Any bright ideas?" Rina questioned.

"Nope."

"Darn." Rina had a sudden brainstorm, but whether it would work or not, she wasn't totally sure. Anything was worth a try though. "Takuya, you remember what Hatsuyo taught you? About the elements?"

Takuya thought back. Indeed, he did remember. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"OK, we're gonna use wind," Rina stated. "You send out from your part and I'll do mine." Rina extended her arms out in front of her, palms facing outwards, overlapped. "Kia kaha brother," Rina yelled, and her eyes narrowed at the Manene. 

"Kia haere te hau!" the twins shouted in unison.

Their yells echoed throughout the forest, and they sensed that something was answering them. Takuya was feeling afraid. All of a sudden, winds slowly began creeping up, then they became harsher and harsher, and that's when the storm began.

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So so sorry!!!! It was so short!

The next chapter's gonna be a really long one, so it probably won't be out for about two-three weeks. Maybe before, but don't count on it, k?

Also- if you want to have a madeup character of your own included in this story, just either email he/she/its bio to me or post it in your review. Tell me what you want them to be, and I'll include them in ^_^

Email bios to me at karisa_temura@yahoo.co.nz

See you in a few weeks everyone!!! Review if you want to. ^_^

Karisa Temura


	4. Chapter Four: Ambush

I'm so sorry that the chapter took so long, I was aiming to have a long long chapter, but I only got as far as just over 9,000 words, so sorry everyone!! ;.; Next time I'll try to aim for 10,000 ok? I have the school holidays coming up soon, so a new chapter may be in order within the next two weeks. It all depends. Like I said, if anyone wants a made up character tossed in the story, email me the bio and I'll include them in. No worries. I know I didn't get any reviews last chapter, but hey, oh well! If you want me to email you when there's a chapter update, just let me know, ok?

I forgot to thank someone last chapter! So sorry Diana ;.; This chapter's dedicated to you and my younger sister, Caitlin. It's her birthday today, (29th June).

Diana@Lineluu2001: Thank you!! Sorry, you don't understand... gomen!!! . I'll try make it less confusing!!

Well, that's it. It's time to get on with the story, ne? *Karisa gets banged on the head with a mallet* OK, what did I miss? THE DISCLAIMER!! OF COURSE!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, but I own this storyline and plot, so please don't steal my ideas anyone. I work very hard on my stories, but if you're wanting to post it on your site or something, please e-mail me for permission. I usually don't get mad very easily, so you won't catch me in a bad mood. ^_^ If I ever get this done, I want to turn it into a fantasy series.

On with the story...

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* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Chapter Four~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

Winds swirling. People flying. Laughing and cheering. These were the sounds that surrounded Takuya and Rina. The sounds that could be heard for miles. Rina automatically winced and hesitated. That one moment of doubtfulness on Rina's behalf was enough to give the Manene the upper hand.

"Quickly!" one shouted, and he lunged forward and grabbed both of Rina's hands, quickly twisting them behind her back and he forced her arms upwards. Rina's teeth gritted with the pain and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. All Rina could think about was giving the bastard a good hard kick where it hurt. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her shoulder at her captor. A young man, she could see. About twenty five years of age.

She saw that her brother was backing away slowly from the Manene. They hadn't even noticed that he was there anymore. They didn't think of him as a threat. Oh, how wrong they were. They shouldn't have underestimated her younger brother. As dim as he seemed sometimes, he had a decent head on his shoulders and he did use his brain, unlike the Manene that they were currently facing. Rina looked down at her younger brother and her free hand was paralysed by pain. It coursed through her. A groan escaped her lips and as Rina was dropped to the ground, a hand came over and struck her on the back of the neck, causing her to go unconscious.

Takuya saw his sister fall to the ground and he shouted out her name in fear. Big mistake.

The Manene turned towards him and Takuya instantly knew that he had done something dreadfully wrong. That was probably the most stupid thing that he could've done. Now he was the only one left that could help Rina and get out of here. If only... if only. But would it work? He didn't know.

Takuya's mind was working at high speeds. His eyes shifted from the unconscious Rina to the Manene that stood over her. Damn, he wanted to strangle the bastard. Takuya began running forward towards the Manene.

They looked at each other sceptically and smirked. He was an easy one to handle... or so they thought.

Takuya threw his hands out to the side and yelled as he ran, "Kia haere te hau!" and splayed his hands out in front of him, palms overlapping. He felt something answering to him again. He didn't know if it was strong enough to knock out the Manene that were there, but he just needed time to stall so that he could get his sister out of there. She needed time and healing to recuperate. She was drained and she had no energy left in her. He could see and sense it just by focusing on her.

Takuya watched the Manene narrow their eyes at him and he just glared back, hoping that his stormy winds would knock these people silly. They deserved it for all the hurt that they had done.

"Rina!" he muttered, and he ran over to his twin. He quickly hoisted her over his shoulders and ran off into the night, not looking behind.

"Damn teenagers," one of the Manene muttered before passing out.

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Nadeshiko stopped for a moment, bending over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She'd been running for a long time, never stopping. She had obeyed what Rina had said. She only hoped that the twins were safe. She would never forgive herself if they weren't. "Rina... Takuya..." she whispered. Her eyes closed tightly and she felt her senses opening up. They were in trouble. She could sense that now. 'I can't let anything happen to them!' Nadeshiko thought. 'They've done so much for me, I can't let them get hurt!'

"Fear not, nothing will happen to them," a voice said.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and a shiver ran down her spine at the voice. Hang on, she knew him! She knew that voice!

Nadeshiko spun around on her heel, her voice accusing. "YOU! Old man!"

"Indeed. I see that you remember. Of course, I should have guessed that Kohu would always remember a face. Yet names you seem to not be so flash on." The figure stepped out of the shadows and its features were illuminated to be that of an old man's. "So let me refresh your memory, Kohu."

Nadeshiko was confused. "Kohu?" she asked, her voice confused and querying. "Who is Kohu?"

"Oh, but Kohu is yourself, my dear. She is your past, your present, and your future. She is who you are. You were always part of her. I can sense her spirit residing within your body. She is the one that gives you this pure white aura that you carry. You are the one, together with Kohu, you are destined to help us all."

"Oh shut up, Kamatari. Spare me the history lesson. I already know it all," a voice snapped haughtily.

Nadeshiko blinked, surprised. "Where in the world did that come from?"

Kamatari smiled at the spirit's over-inflated ego. "Did I also mention that the spirit herself is also extremely arrogant?"

Nadeshiko could feel the spirit smiling self-satisfactorily. She could also feel its contempt for this conversation, and Nadeshiko squashed the spirit into a little pulp, so that it was just a mere presence at the back of her conscience, constantly itching.

She groaned. "This spirit is a pain." She massaged her temples with her fingertips.

The old timer grinned. "Better believe it. When she's not being a pain, she's thinking up ways to be a pain so I suggest that you keep some of your mind on that one. It's going to try and take you over, you know?"

"Fantastic," Nadeshiko commented dryly. "I deal with the Manene, then keeping Takuya and Rina safe, running away from the Manene, finding you, and now I have this ... rogue ... spirit inside of me. Ain't my life great!" she groaned.

"Hey, it's not all that bad, because once you get control of Kohu, she could probably become a valuable asset."

"You try being the one with her in your body," Nadeshiko grumbled, and got a splitting pain at the back of her head as Kohu tried to take over her mind.

"Watch your magic. Try not to use too much of it as well, ok?" Kamatari suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," Nadeshiko said back weakly. "I kinda figured that earlier."

"It's no problem." Kamatari was looking around. "I know it's sometime in the morning, but I really need your help in finding my children. Do you know where they are?"

Nadeshiko pointed in the direction of the way that she had just come and quickly told him that Rina had insisted that she leave and get as far away from the place that she could.

Kamatari smiled inwardly. So his daughter had caught on. She was a quick sly one, that daughter of his. She was one to be watched. Kamatari quickly asked again, "And what of Takuya? How is he?"

Nadeshiko thought back. She remembered Takuya being up in a tree and that was the last time that she saw him. She couldn't recall anything after that. Then again, she might not have been there. It might have been after Rina had told her to leave.

Why had she listened to the stubborn girl's commands? Why had she left? She should've stayed. She realised that now and all she wanted to do was head back and help them. There was nothing else that they could do and Nadeshiko didn't want to jeopardise the lives of Takuya and Rina if they had been captured. Maybe they already had been, she wasn't so sure. Nadeshiko wanted to ask Kamatari something, but she wasn't sure if the old man would take it so well. Kamatari had gone off at her when he had first met her and she hadn't quite forgiven him for that, but she was slowly progressing. Just a little longer.

Kamatari sensed the conflicting emotions within the young witch and he wanted to help her overcome them, but as he stared at her, he noticed her withdrawing expression. She wouldn't want help. Not from him anyway.

Nadeshiko watched the old man warily. He might try something and if he did, she wanted to be on her guard so that nothing would happen to her. She stared back at Kamatari, wondering where he had been, why he had left. Rina, Takuya and she had spent a long time searching for the old man. Yet here he was, standing in front of her, looking like nothing had happened.

"Where have you been all this time?" she snapped. She hadn't realised how much she despised him for that. He had left them alone, and come back, acting as if nothing had happened. It was getting on her nerves.

Kamatari chuckled.

Nadeshiko wasn't sure if she heard right. Kamatari, chuckling? It seemed incomprehensible.

Kamatari read Nadeshiko's mind. "Yes, it is certainly not often that you hear me laughing," he admitted.

Nadeshiko smiled a little in agreement. She knew that that was certainly true.

"You know it's true," Kamatari said, making the girl's smile widen into a grin. "By the way, what happened to Rina and Takuya?"

"I thought you would've known."

"Well I don't, so can you please tell me?"

"I don't know, I thought you would know. You are their father."

"Do I have to say something bad about myself? Say that I'm a totally useless father; that I don't know what I'm doing and that I would be of no help to anyone? Is that really what you want me to say?" Kamatari asked innocently.

Nadeshiko gave him a long-suffering look and narrowed her eyes a little. "It'd probably be a start," Nadeshiko muttered. She hadn't intended for Kamatari to hear that remark, but he did anyway.

He let it go. "Well, here-"

Nadeshiko interrupted. "It's isn't necessary, ok? You don't need to say those things."

"But I thought, --" he was cut off.

"Just deal with it," she snapped. He was really getting on her nerves. Nadeshiko began walking past Kamatari.

"Aren't you going to head back for Rina and Takuya?" he asked.

Nadeshiko had a retort on the tip of her tongue and she was about to say it when...

..."You're so caring, aren't you, Kamatari?" a voice interrupted Nadeshiko and Kamatari's conversation.

They both spun around, disbelieving hearing THAT voice.

"T-T-Tak-Taku-Takuya-ya," Nadeshiko stuttered. "You're alive!!" It was then that Nadeshiko saw Rina over his shoulders. Her eyes widened and she quickly reacted. "We need to help her," Nadeshiko said quickly and immediately helped Rina down off Takuya. "These need to be healed quickly," Nadeshiko murmured, observing Rina's wounds.

"Use your magic," Kamatari said quickly.

Nadeshiko looked at him, confused. "How do I do that?"

Takuya jumped in, happy to instruct the young witch. It appeared that she didn't know what to do when trying to heal someone. That much was apparent. "Basically, hold your hands out over here and concentrate on your own energy flowing through Rina's body," Takuya continued to instruct Nadeshiko and then added, "I'd do it, but healing magic doesn't run very strongly through my family."

Nadeshiko looked at Kamatari, as if asking him a silent question, to which he nodded.

"It's the same with my family," he responded. "However, healing magic does run through yours, and you and I both know that, Nadeshiko. It runs through from your mother, Amaya. Very strongly, might I add."

Nadeshiko looked at her hands doubtfully. How could they really heal Rina? She'd never tried something as complex as healing with her own energy before, Amaya had never taught it to her, only told her that healing with one's own energy was very difficult. So after that little lecture, Nadeshiko had decided that she'd just stick with herbs.

Nadeshiko hesitantly placed her hands on Rina's stomach and she looked up at Kamatari for confirmation, her eyes fearful. Could she do this? She wondered doubtfully. It seemed impossible.

Kamatari nodded, acknowledging the girl's fear. "Reach deep within you. You know that you have the power to heal, but it has not been awoken. All you have to do is wake it up, Nadeshiko and then it will do the work for you."

Nadeshiko nodded a little and then tried to calm herself. Her breaths became shallow, and her vision narrowed. She felt like she was going to pass out. She tried to keep her hands steady, but she could feel that they were shaking. Nadeshiko collapsed back onto the ground. "It isn't working," she said desperately. "My powers. They've failed me. They won't work." She looked down at her hands, horrified.

"I'm sure they'll come back," Kamatari said.

"Yeah, after all, you're the one with the white aura, right? I mean, there's nothing you can't do, right?" Takuya sounded a little discouraged.

Takuya and Kamatari quickly stepped forward to help calm the girl, but she was muttering to herself, not listening to their reassurances. "This is the first time they've short-circuited on me. Why won't they work? Have I done something to abuse my powers? Maybe I shouldn't use magic anymore. Maybe that would be a solution. To never use my powers again. Oh, I don't know. I like using my magic and I can help people. Damn, this is so confusing." She buried her head in her hands. "I've failed you, Rina. I'm so sorry." And she dashed off.

Takuya went to go after her, but his father put a hand on his shoulder, restraining him.

Takuya looked at his father. "But Nadeshiko -"

"Let her be, young one. She'll be fine. We have to attend to Rina."

Takuya looked worried as he glanced in the direction that Nadeshiko had bolted off in. He muttered a few words in his native language, "Nga Hau E Wha." That meant 'the four winds'. He hoped that she would understand...

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Koto walked quietly into her thicket. Water spilled down over the branch clad walls and trickles of little streams of water glistened in the light that bathed the chamber. Little birds twittered and sang as the healer made her way through the place that she called 'home'. She had just been told that a young girl was having a little bit of trouble. Koto had decided to check in the viewing pool on who the girl was and what she looked like. Koto looked a little more than a healer, and indeed she was. Koto was an angel, and a very magical one at that.

Koto was in charge of healing the ones that were sore and ill, and she was also in charge of assigning young guardian angels their charges. This young girl could turn out to be a charge. Koto had heard that the girl had amazing magical powers, and not only that, but the girl also had the spirit of Kohu, the legendary goddess, within her body as well. Amazing things for such a young age.

Koto herself was immortal. She could never die and she had been in this place since the start of 'Time'. It was true that they angels had gone through many stages during their long long lives, they had had many head angels through the ages and currently, they were led under a male angel by the name of Dayu. He had a younger son called Raidon whom Koto was sure would lead sometime after his father stood down. Koto could see the anticipation on the younger angel's face whenever he attended a meeting of some importance.

Just that morning, Dayu had sent a messenger down to Koto, saying that he needed to see her as soon as possible. He had said that there was some concern down on the world of Kapokapo. Quickly, Koto had gone to see the head angel and as soon as she had got there, she had been ushered into Dayu's office.

He had told her about the young girl and he had also told her to investigate her, see if she was special enough to become on of the charges for the guardian angels. Koto had agreed, she was intrigued about this girl and wanted to see what she was like. Heck, maybe Koto could visit Kapokapo again. It was about time that she had a vacation.

It had been a good few hundred years since she had been down there. Maybe she could think of it as an extended vacation or something. Her lips curved into a small smile at the thought. Yeah right, like Koto could ever take a vacation, she was always piled with work. It was the way her life was, she loved healing and everything that came with it, but there were some days that she just wished that she could have a holiday and escape from her work. But that was never going to happen. She knew that, and she had just learned to deal with it.

Yet a little holiday down on Kapokapo while doing work wouldn't be much of a problem and she could probably see all her friends as well. It would probably make things a lot easier for her, as well as for the probable charge. Koto wouldn't have as much stress and she could see her mentor while she was down there. It all worked out for the best.

Koto walked over to the pool that emitted its own light. Dim light that gently lit up the trails of water that trickled down the walls of the branch covered thicket. They were like veins, gently giving life to the thin trees that grew at the base of the wall, at the floor, and reaching over from the rain that collected on the top. Yes, it rained in the heavens. She knew the saying went, 'the heavens opened up', but it became more than a figure of speech. The heavens really did open up when rain fell down.

It was the heavens' way of releasing the pent-up energy from the heavens. It turned into moisture, formed into clouds and then bucketed down on the land below. The people below said that the heavens were always above them, yet it wasn't exactly true. While they might not be exactly above them, they were certainly nearby.

Koto's pond could see for miles. All one had to do was ask the viewing pool who or what they wished to see and the viewing pool would let them see it. Koto sat down on one of the big circular rocks that surrounded the pool. It was in a perfect circle, with its usually clear waters dancing a murky grey. Something was going wrong and the viewing pool was picking it up. Koto quietly muttered, "Whakakitea." Which, in her language, meant 'reveal'.

Koto's simple word meant to reveal what the viewing pool was hiding. She knew that it was something dreadfully wrong, but she didn't know what. She wanted to see how the girl was doing, and who she was, but first Koto had to get to the bottom of what was going wrong down below. It wasn't easy using the viewing pool because sometimes it didn't work.

Quickly, Koto dipped her hand into the cold water of the viewing pool and silver sparkles rained down from the ceiling. She chanted a few words under her breath, a song in a lilting tone of voice that would have enchanted anyone, had they been standing there listening. It was just very fortunate that there had been nobody there. Otherwise they would have been under Koto's spell, and this spell was only meant to help the viewing pool reveal its secrets.

Koto's hand disappeared under the murky water and she could see streaks of silver working their way into the murky grey. The dim light of the pool vanished and the only light that she had left was the light of the stars above her, twinkling. It truly was a beautiful night, but Koto had no concern for the beauty because she needed to find out what was wrong down on Kapokapo.

Maybe it was time to pay a trip down there. Of course, she would need Dayu's approval first and that was always a struggle because he didn't like anyone travelling to Kapokapo unless they took extreme measures to protect themselves. Usually that meant covering themselves with invisibility spells and un-detection. It was a lengthy process and that was the main reason that most angels didn't venture down below. They also didn't like risking their precious lives. No, but in some cases it was because the angels in question were too damn selfish for their own good.

Koto didn't know what had happened to the race that she had once been proud to be a part of. It was as if they had turned their backs on everyone else. The commoners never did anything, and most of the higher-levels couldn't give a damn about what went on below. The ones who kept everything in check were Koto and Dayu.

Koto had had some visits down below in the past for charges for the new and recently made guardian angels and she had just got back from training with a young one by the name of 'Fujitaka'. He was a trying young thing, she would say that. And he seemed pretty determined to become a guardian. She could see that that was nothing more than he wanted.

She was happy for him to become a guardian angel, but it involved a lot of work and the angel involved needed to be very trustworthy and be reliable, because if something happened to their charge while they were on their job, then something was going to go wrong and Dayu would not be very happy and the one that he would probably come and yell at would be Koto. She didn't want that.

Fujitaka had all of that and Koto was just concentrating on developing his magical skills. He had the right instincts and everything, but there was more to being a guardian than those qualities. They also had to be able to protect their charge from magical things, as most were not able to do that themselves. Most charges were people who had shown lots of initiative and spirit in what they were doing. They were people who had a pure heart and would always stand up for what they believed in. They were also people who would put other peoples' lives before their own.

Those were the sort of people who were protected by guardian angels. So far there were about fifty or sixty charges that had guardians, and this one that Koto had to observe was a potential one. He or she or it, could easily become a charge, depending on what they did to help others. The information that Koto had been able to squeeze out of Dayu was that the girl showed some amazing ability in healing, Koto's speciality. Now Koto was even more intrigued about the girl.

Koto gazed into the swirling shades of grey and silver water. She could see that her magic was starting to take effect; that it was clearing out whatever was blocking the viewing pool's, well, view. The intense grey colour washed away to the edge of the pool and faded, and Koto was left with the water glowing a deep blue silver. It swirled around within its contents and began forming a picture, and it was to this that Koto watched...

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Nadeshiko sobbed, her head in her hands. How could she have failed Rina at such a crucial time? Now there was a chance that she wouldn't live. Nadeshiko could just kill herself for taking that chance with Rina.

She pounded her fist on the ground in anger and tears flowed down her red-stained cheeks. Something was going to happen to them, she could sense it, and she didn't even have her powers intact. Fat lot of good that did any of them. "Why?! Why?!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout the forest. Cold sweat mingled in with tears and it flowed to the ground in little streams, like veins on a leaf.

Nadeshiko just stared at the ground, her eyes unseeing. She was physically in that plane of time, but her mind was in a whole other realm. Something was pricking at her brain... it was that damned spirit, the one that Kamatari had called 'Kohu'. It wanted to get loose. Nadeshiko wouldn't let that happen. She didn't want that ... that ... thing ... to take over her body.

Not now. Not at this time. It wasn't right, she couldn't, WOULDN'T let it happen. Something was trying to reach her, contact her. Nadeshiko could feel a prickle of awareness coming. Something was trying to intrude in her mind, yet it wasn't that spirit. This presence felt more familiar, like family. NO!! Not that person!!

Nadeshiko abruptly tried to shut off her mind to outside influences. But no, it was too late. She would have to hear out what the presence had to say, and she didn't want to. Not in the slightest. That much was for sure. The person was her mother, Amaya.

Since Amaya had cast Nadeshiko out, Nadeshiko had felt absolutely no remorse for the woman. In all honesty, she still couldn't figure out why her mother had tossed her out of home.

Being on her own had probably been a better thing for her. She had met Rina and Takuya, and even though it was likely that Rina was going to die... no, she couldn't think that way! Rina was not going to die! Not if Nadeshiko had anything to do with it. She was going to try help the girl survive.

If Rina died, that would mean a terrible loss, not only for her family, but also for Rina's village, and this woman that Nadeshiko had heard so much about. She remembered that the woman's name was Hatsuyo. It was not often that she heard of a woman with such phenomenal powers. Nadeshiko wanted to meet her, maybe Hatsuyo could teach her something about controlling her own powers, how to bring them up when they were needed, and how not to let them fail, like they just had. She was still kicking herself for it.

Her mind cast over to her mother again and her eyes clouded with unshed tears. Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched in anger. "I don't wanna hear from you again!!" she cried out. "You hear me, AMAYA! NEVER!!!!!"

Nadeshiko heard a soft voice singing, "Memories last forever, never do they die..."

Her eyes widened a little. That voice... she'd heard it before. Somewhere.

"Always believe in truth, it's a way to get by..." There it was again. That voice. She recognised it. She knew that she did. She just couldn't put the voice with its owner.

Nadeshiko began to shakily get up, but fell back. She couldn't even manage to get up. How helpless was she! Her head still hung, until bright light struck her eyes, forcing her to squint and look up. She sheltered a hand over her eyes so as to block some of the light that blinded her.

The figure was surrounded in mist, but then a light shone from within her, lighting her up. Her blond hair was down her back, about halfway between her shoulder blades and her waist, but tied up with a small band of tiny white blossoms, her blue eyes twinkled mischievously as she watched the girl. The robes she wore were not of white, but of gold and silver twined together, forming a beautiful robe that clothed the figure's entire body.

Nadeshiko's eyes widened even more. She could see... an angel. Wait!! An ANGEL?!?! Since when did they come down from the heavens. Nadeshiko had never seen one in her entire life, yet here one was, right before her, floating. The angel's silver wings glittered in the twilight. She seemed to be emitting her own light. "W-what are you d-d-doin-doing h-he-here?" Nadeshiko stuttered, disbelieving.

The angel laughed, a pleasant sound, one of peaceful rushing water. "I am here to watch over you for a time, young one."

"Me? Why am I so special?" Nadeshiko asked, faintly surprised. Why had she been the one?

"You are the one with Kohu, young witch. She is inside of you," the angel sounded.

"I know that. But what is so important about her?" Nadeshiko asked desperately. She was confused about this whole situation and she wanted answers.

'WHY AM I IMPORTANT?!?!?!' a voice shouted in Nadeshiko's head. 'Ungrateful little witch, I'll show you important!!!'

Nadeshiko automatically winced.

"The spirit again, huh? She does have a violent temper, ne?" the angel said.

"Believe me, I know that better than anyone," Nadeshiko replied wearily, and she rubbed her head. "What are you here for anyway? Have I done something wrong?"

The angel looked abashed. "Angels don't come down here for that sort of thing, we're here to watch over charges or potential ones."

"Is that like some sort of prison magic camp or something?" Nadeshiko asked. She was clueless about this sort of thing.

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" the angel said quickly. "We watch over the people who really make a difference. The ones who put others before themselves and since they have no one to protect them, because they're too busy protecting others, it's our duty to make sure that they're safe, otherwise we really get yelled at by Dayu."

"Who's Dayu?" Nadeshiko asked. She'd never heard that name before.

"I forgot to tell you about him didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. All this is so unreal."

"Oh believe me, it's all real. Dayu is the head angel. He's as real as your healing powers and magic."

Nadeshiko chuckled. Now that was something to laugh about. She remarked, "Well, my so called magic and healing powers are virtually none existent now, so I guess that doesn't really make him very real then."

The figure grimaced. "Has no one taught you anything?"

Nadeshiko merely shook her head. "No, I've had to do all my learning on my own." She glanced around. "Do you know where Kamatari and Takuya are? I lost track of them a while back. I don't know where they are now."

The angel cocked her head. "Well, use your senses. You know how to do that, don't you?"

Nadeshiko blinked. "I think so. They're like a net, aren't they?"

"Yeah, something like that. But anyway, this is how it goes, all you have to do is concentrate on what you know of their auras and then filter your senses through the forest, trying to locate where they might be. Believe me, it's a lot easier than it sounds."

"I know," Nadeshiko remarked wearily, pressing a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples. "This is gonna hurt for a long time. I just wanna get this spirit out of me."

"She's not going to leave. Kohu's like that. She'll stick like glue."

"Just out of curiosity, who exactly is Kohu? I mean, what does she want with me."

The angel took a deep breath. "You really want to go who she is?"

Nadeshiko cocked her head. "Of course."

"OK, well, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I'll do my best. Kohu started out as a witch, just like yourself, except one day, in a freak act of nature; she was struck by lightning and given even more immense powers that she already had. She was given the powers of telekinesis, levitation and the power to read minds. Kohu abused these powers that she had been granted and ended up being cursed by a witch of her fellow family."

Nadeshiko's eyes were widened a little. "She did all that?"

The angel nodded. "Yes, she did. Anyway, the short story is that Kohu was banished to being a spirit and for some unknown reasons, she tends to try to possess the bodies of powerful witches, ones that are renowned to have great powers and abilities. Hence, why she was drawn to you."

Nadeshiko's eyes were now cast down, trying to absorb this knowledge. "So, she's trying to take over my body to get my powers?" she concluded.

The angel nodded.

"Oh geez. First I have to worry about the Manene, now Kohu. Great, just great. I should've stayed in Merekara. By the way," Nadeshiko looked up at the angel, "what's your name? What can I call you?"

The angel thought for a second. "Call me Koto. My full name's Kotomi, but most call me Koto."

Nadeshiko nodded, repeating the name to herself a few times. "Right... Koto? I guess I better be heading on my way. I have to go see Kamatari and Takuya."

"I thought you didn't know where they were," Koto said.

Nadeshiko smiled, turned around halfway and winked at the confused angel. "No worries, I know where they are, I was just trying to get to know ya, see ya round, Koto!"

Koto immediately winced. "Darn it, Kohu's got control. I should've destroyed that spirit when I had the chance... gotta be on the lookout for that one."

Nadeshiko, or should I say, Kohu began walking in the direction of where she sensed Kamatari and Takuya.

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"Where is she?!" Takuya yelled at Kamatari. "She's dying! Look!" Takuya looked helplessly down at his twin.

"I don't know where she is... maybe she got lost..." Kamatari suggested. He looked around for Nadeshiko, casting his senses out.

"No need to look, or sense," a lazy voice said from a nearby tree.

Kamatari squinted to see the figure leaning against the tree and was overjoyed to see that it was Nadeshiko. 

"Have you got your powers back?" the question was voiced by a desperate Takuya. "She's going, Nadeshiko. She is, and I don't think she'll come back. We need you to heal her now."

Kohu smiled lazily as she sauntered up to the body on the ground. She held her hands over the body and they began to glow a faint silver. "There we go," she giggled. "All done and fully healed."

Rina's eyes slowly opened and her head turned a little. She smiled slightly at her friend. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Hey, no probs!" Kohu squealed, in Nadeshiko's voice, in Nadeshiko's body. "Cute cute cute!! Oh my gosh, you two are TWINS!!! So CUTE!!"

"Um... yeah... I guess..." Takuya looked a little sceptical.

Rina sweatdropped. "OK, what happened, Nadeshiko?"

Kohu pouted cutely. "Who's to say that anything happened?" she grinned a little.

Rina simply raised an eyebrow. "I know something did. Where's Nadeshiko?" she narrowed her eyes at Kohu.

Kohu's grin turned into a smirk. "She's in here somewhere..." Kohu looked down. "Yeah, she's in here somewhere."

A melodic voice rang around the trees, "Kohu, go back to where you came from! The girl does not need you interfering in her life."

"Aww... just like you to spoil my fun, KOTOMI!" Kohu sniggered.

Rina looked around to see an angelic sight. An... Angel. HANG ON A SECOND!! An ANGEL?!?!?! She stared from the angel that the strange Nadeshiko had called 'Kotomi'. "You're an angel?" Rina asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

"Of course she is!" Takuya stated. "Only an angel looks like that."

Koto smiled gratefully at Takuya and he blushed under her gaze.

Rina just groaned. "On geez, Kotomi, you've made him red. It takes him ages to get back to his normal colour." Rina walked over to her dazed brother and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him along to where she was with Nadeshiko. "Stay," she instructed her brother, pointing her index finger at him and talking to him as if he were a dog. "You hear me, Takky? Stay..." she let the word drag on for more emphasis.

Kamatari could not help but laugh at the hilarious sight, and soon Koto joined in. Those two were definitely comical relief from what had happened earlier. "You two ought to be the village clowns," Kamatari said to his twin children.

To which Rina turned around and shouted, "SHUT UP!!!!"

Nadeshiko stepped back a little, feeling in the slightest, a bit hesitant.

"Oh no missy, you're not going anywhere," Rina said, and she pulled Nadeshiko over to Takuya, who was still staring at Koto in a daze.

"Takuya," Rina said. No response. "Takuya," she said a little bit more forcefully this time. Still no response. "TAKUYA!" she said through her teeth, her voice near a growl. Still no response. Rina had the urge to kick her brother hard, and she carried out this wish, giving him a good hard kick in the thigh, so that it would hurt like hell.

A screech of pain was heard throughout the forest and Rina grinned. She was meaning entirely for that to hurt. Her speciality was kicks to the thighs. It was always guaranteed to trigger siblings out of their dazes and it also had the added bonus of giving them a dead leg. "How the leg, bro?" Rina asked sweetly, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Oh shut up," Takuya said, a dry smile on his face. "You know damn well what that vicious kick of yours does."

"Of course, I'm the one who ends up using it on you," Rina's grin widened even more. "So how's it feel?"

Takuya narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Sore, if it makes you feel any better."

Rina smiled satisfactorily. "Good. It should've. Now, you make sure you stay, ok?"

Takuya grumbled and Rina took the answer for a yes. "You, Angel or Kotomi or whatever your name is, come with me," Rina directed at Koto, who looked at her with surprise. "Yes you."

Koto was confused. What did Rina want with her? She hadn't done anything wrong had she? Maybe she shouldn't have talked to the girl's twin. It might've been a bad idea because Rina certainly seemed to be in a bad mood and it didn't seem like there would be much to get her out of it. Koto had seen that enough when Kohu had been in charge of Nadeshiko's body. Mind you, Koto had been watching Nadeshiko and the people that had surrounded her for a fair while now so she knew basically what had been happening in the girl's life and she wanted to help her, she really did, but she had to report to Dayu soon.

Koto could sense Dayu calling out for her and she knew that she had to go see him yet she just couldn't right now, because she was tied up with this one. Somehow, Koto had to get away from the unruly Rina, make her way up to heaven, and give a report of Nadeshiko and whether she was fit to get a guardian angel. Koto was certain that she was and Nadeshiko's guardian would have to be a highly powerful one to keep Kohu in check. Even Nadeshiko could barely keep the highly temperamental goddess in check and the spirit was in her body! Who else could keep Kohu contained? Koto wasn't exactly sure. She would have to talk more to Dayu about it.

Koto snapped out of her trance and looked at Rina. "Sorry..." she struggled to remember the girl's name... "Rina? That was your name, right?"

"It is," Rina snapped. "And what do you have to be sorry about?"

"I have to get going. You know, back to heaven and all that sort of stuff... so I'm going to be going now... Nadeshiko, keep in mind that that spirit in your body may try to take over again as she just managed to before and if she has access to your magic, it could be disastrous. Not to inflate your ego, but you should try to keep her in check otherwise she will regain control of your powers and believe me, if you want these guys to stay safe, then you're going to have to make sure she stays put, ok?"

Nadeshiko nodded, still slightly confused about this sprit, but heeding Koto's words nonetheless. "I'll try."

Koto smiled and nodded. "Good. I will need you to try to contact me soon. If you can't reach me within the next three days, then I'll contact you myself, alright?"

Nadeshiko nodded. "OK. I'll be expecting your call then. I don't have anything to contact you by."

Koto smiled a little. "It's not that hard. You have telepathy, right?"

Nadeshiko nodded, still not understanding.

"Well, just concentrate on me, my presence or something like that. Even my aura would do. And all you have to do is try to concentrate on me and send a thought through. It should reach me, if no, then nothing will work and I will contact you via a dream. You'll be having some very disturbing premonitions soon; I can see it through the viewing pool. I will see you soon Nadeshiko." And with that, Koto vanished.

"Well that was a fleeting visit," Rina remarked.

"You scared her away," Takuya grumbled to Rina.

"I did not," Rina retorted hotly.

"Yes you did, and you know it," Takuya said back, a little irritated.

"So what?" Rina smirked and shrugged. "Deal with it, bro."

Takuya narrowed his eyes and was about to lunge on his sister when Nadeshiko stepped in. "Guys, please don't fight, don't we need to get to your village?"

Rina gritted her teeth, but nodded and stepped back from her brother. "You're right, Nadeshiko, let's get a move on so that I can finally get back and actually do something out here without getting hurt. I need to see Hatsuyo about something anyway."

"Yeah, she needs to teach me some more things so I can defend myself better. We don't know when the Manene will strike again and Rina nearly died as a result of this attack. We have to tread cautiously or else they could ambush us on the way there. It's still a few days walk ahead, unless of course you have a faster method of transportation."

Nadeshiko thought, observing their surroundings and came up with nothing. "Looks like we're on foot then. Kamatari? Any ideas?"

Kamatari shook his head. "Nothing, besides, I think the walk will do you all some good. Especially you, Takuya, you've been a bit of a couch potato lately." 

Takuya glared at his father. He had a really strong urge to say 'shut up', but instead said, "Be quiet," with a rather annoyed look on his face.

Rina was laughing in delight. "There's nothing more that I love to see than you annoyed little brother, it's hilarious! You get this funny look on your face as if you're planning something, but we know you're not because you can't fool us and I'm your twin sister and I can read your mind, so I know exactly what you're going to do!"

Nadeshiko raised an eyebrow at Rina. The girl was babbling. That was even clear to her. Nadeshiko shook her head sadly. She had some really crazy friends.

Takuya turned his glare from his father to his sister. She was going crazy, he could see that, but he didn't know if she could. He decided to say something about it. "Umm... Rina? You do know that you're babbling right?"

Rina's hands instantly flew to her mouth, now that someone had actually pointed it out to her; it had become apparent to her too.

"A severe case of verbal diarrhoea," Kamatari deadpanned and his son looked at him with a grin.

"Ditto that," Takuya remarked.

Nadeshiko cocked her head at the weird family behaviour. Was it always like this in families? Hers had been nothing like this, hers had been all about learning spells and everything, these people were so laid-back, they hardly seemed to do anything. Maybe she could consider coming to live in their village; after all, she was going there for a while anyway. What was the harm in staying? She couldn't see any reason not to. "Uh... guys? Don't you think that we should be going to your village soon?" she voiced, a little bit doubtful.

Takuya and Kamatari immediately stopped laughing. "Oh yeah, I forgot!" Takuya said. "Oops."

"You always forget," Rina accused.

"Well, UI didn't see you saying anything, SIS," Takuya retorted back.

Nadeshiko was getting a headache with all their bickering. "Can we just go please?"

Kamatari had a soft smile on his face. "Of course. We'll go now, those two can catch up when they finish their little argument."

Nadeshiko had a dry smile on her face. "Right..."

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Dayu sat at his desk, impatiently waiting for Koto's return. She was supposed to have been back hours ago. Then again, Koto didn't have a very good sense of time. Dayu was just about to bury his head in his arms and think the worst when the young healer walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late," Koto said, walking in and setting herself down with a flourish and a big smile.

"I'm taking that it went well?" Dayu said.

"Better than well. It was great. I managed to see what that girl's power was like, and I was able to see that goddamn arrogant spirit again, so I guess that you could say I had fun. Heh, I managed to shut Kohu up for a little while. She's still as haughty as ever." Koto grimaced. "She kept calling me 'Kotomi'. She knows how much I hate that name."

Dayu shrugged. "Hey, it was the name you were given."

"I still prefer Koto," Koto retorted and stuck out her tongue. "Bleh... Kotomi... what in the world were my parents thinking? Yeesh..."

"That spirit's always going to be condescending, so you're just gonna have to deal with it. Until we find a decent guardian for that girl, I appoint you in charge of her."

Koto's eyes widened. "Dayu! NO!! Not that arrogant spirit! I don't wanna have to deal with her again. She talks back to me all the time."

"Does the girl?" Dayu asked.

Koto was clearly confused. "What do you mean by 'does the girl'?"

"I mean, does she talk back to you?"

Koto had to think for a bit there. "Well... no..."

"Fine then. It's settled. I appoint you, Matsuda Kotomi, temporary guardian of Amamiya Nadeshiko."

"Oh joy..." Koto moaned, slumping her head against the desk and groaning. "Why me...?" 

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"Why me...?" a voice grumbled. Nadeshiko was sitting on a tree stump listening to Takuya and Rina arguing about some stupid thing. Again. It seemed that all they did was argue. It was giving Nadeshiko an even bigger headache than it had before. And that was saying something because that spirit inside of Nadeshiko had given her a pretty big headache from the start.

"They giving you a headache huh?" a voice asked.

Nadeshiko looked up to see Kamatari looking down at her. "Yeah. I try to block them out, but somehow those two manage to penetrate into my brain. It hurts. They yell too loud. I mean, it's really quiet here and their voices seem to carry for miles. Ugghhh..." she groaned.

"Yeah, I know it does, but you just have to learn to deal with it sometimes. Most of the people in my village are sued to Rina and Takuya's bickering so whenever those two walk past, most people can tell that they're about to start an argument so they dive into their houses and bring out their earmuffs," Kamatari said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Nadeshiko brightened a bit. "Really?" she asked.

"No," Kamatari answered with a half-heartened smile, a bit amused. "I wish we had earmuffs though. I usually can't stand being in the same room as those two and they're my flesh and blood. I love them to bits, but they drive me insane."

Nadeshiko managed a half smile. "That's family for you. They're always like that."

"Yeah, I agree with you." Kamatari stopped when he saw Nadeshiko's face. She looked miserable and he suddenly remembered what Rina had been yelling at him about. He was immediately sorry about what he'd said. "I'm sorry Nadeshiko... I completely forgot..."

"It's ok. I'm not completely fragile you know. I can hear about other people's families. It doesn't hurt a whole heap." Of course she was lying. She knew that she was lying. All that she had wished when she was a girl was to have a family that cared about her and wanted her to become the best that she could be. Unfortunately, her family hadn't been like that and her own mother had kicked her out of home when she was just a mere eighteen years old. It did hurt, it really did.

Kamatari looked at the girl with concern. He could see that she was very skilled in hiding her true emotions, yet he could see right through them. It was what made his people so good at figuring out enemies. He wouldn't call his son and daughter very empathic though, they were taking no notice of the others around them, namely him and the witch. "I'm sure that they had their reasons. But honestly, are you honestly feeling ok?"

When Nadeshiko looked up at the old man again, there were tears in her eyes that she was struggling to hide. She wasn't going to cry. No, she wasn't. She was struggling to hold them in because they were going to spill at any moment.

"You don't need to hide them," Kamatari said softly. "It's ok to cry. It's what makes us different to others. We feel emotion where they do not. We experience fear, sorrow and hurt. It's all part of who we are. Don't hold it in, don't bottle it up. It'll just make it worse." Kamatari reached over and put an arm around the teenager's shoulders.

Nadeshiko leaned against the old man, grateful for the support. And for the second time that day, she sobbed.

"It's ok, let it all out..." Kamatari said in a soothing voice as he looked up in the night sky, thinking, 'We'll be there soon, mother, just hold out a little longer. I need you to help this girl.' He looked down at Nadeshiko, whose face was hidden. 'Just a little longer, young one...'

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It was well after nightfall when Nadeshiko felt herself wake up. She must've fallen asleep leaning against Kamatari. Once again, she silently thanked the old man for his support. He had sure been there for her over the past couple of days. She was very grateful to him for that.

Nadeshiko lifted her head from the ground where she must have been lying. She saw Rina and Takuya fast asleep and again, Kamatari silhouetted against the fire, in front of the dancing flames, the red light lighting up his nearly white hair. She smiled a little at the sight. When she moved to sit up, Kamatari said, "Sit down, young one. You need your sleep. There will be plenty of time for more adventure tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Nadeshiko yawned, suddenly realising how tired she was. "How long have I been out of it?" she asked, faintly curious.

"Long enough for when Rina and Takuya finally stopped yelling at each other, they noticed that you'd gone to sleep. And of course, Rina demanded to know what happened. I merely told her to leave you alone and to let you sleep because you've had a very rough day. I'm sorry, Nadeshiko, but I can see for your future that things are going to get a whole lot tougher."

"I know..." Nadeshiko whispered. "I can see it too."

"Go back to sleep, young one. You need your sleep for tomorrow's journey. We have a long day ahead of us."

Nadeshiko complied and laid her head back down on her pillow. As she stared at the dancing flames of fire, memories danced across her conscious, becoming one big blur, until finally, Nadeshiko fell asleep, ready to sleep the days' worries away...

~*~*~*~*~*~TO BE CONTINUED~*~*~*~*~*~

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Woohoo!!!! Longest chapter that I've ever written. I hit over 10,000 words! ^_^ I'm gonna aim for 11,000 now. Hmm... if anyone's got any fics to recommend to me, please let me know! I'm gonna read KayJuli's fics tomorrow... hers are so damn good. Conflict, description. Whoa... 

That's the end of it for this chapter. I'm going nighty nights now, it's 10pm and I have big tests tomorrow. Damn the end of the school mid term... I wanna sleep. I'm gonna read HP 5 a bit though. I'm nearly finished...

Don't forget, permission, questions, bios. Just please... no... bad... stuff. Anything! Feel free to e-mail me, I guarantee that I'll reply. ^_^ Whoa! Time to get a move on! I've got a group meeting for a CCS RPG I'm in!

Review if you want to.

Karisa Temura

My email address:

karisa_temura@yahoo.co.nz


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